Nathan Warmack wanted to honor his Scottish heritage by wearing a Scottish kilt to his high school dance. His Principal had other ideas and told him to put on a pair of pants.The formal clothing has sparked an international debate about freedom, symbols and cultural dress. More than 1,600 people have signed an Internet petition seeking an apology for the high school senior.Scots in the United States are assembling a traditional ensemble they hope the student will wear to the prom, and his family is trying to change the school's dress-code policy.

Warmack, a defensive lineman on the football team, says, "It's a kilt. It's going to turn heads, but I never believed it would have become what it is."

One man's idea of "artistic expression" has his neighbors on the phone with police. Parents are concerned over a naughty neighbor's decision to display Santa Claus in a not-so-jolly fashion.

Parents fear their children will be affected after seeing the life-sized Santa doll that is blindfolded, with his hands tied, and hanging from a tree.

A judge has ruled singer Courtney Love can leave rehab and enroll in an outpatient program. Love has been at a live-in drug treatment facility since September. Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin cut short Love's sentence for violating probation in three criminal cases, including two drug-related charges.

The judge ordered Love, the former lead singer of the band Hole and widow of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, to submit to random checks twice a week for drugs and alcohol. She also must continue therapy and avoid any business that primarily sells alcohol. Although Love will be now have more freedom to finish up her sentence for violating probation in three different criminal cases, she will still be under watchful eyes. The judge extended her probation to March 2007 and set her curfew at 10 p.m.

Nearly half of Americans questioned in a new opinion poll mistakenly believe they can contract bird flu by eating chicken. Forty-seven percent of respondents including nearly half of college graduates agreed with the false statement that eating an infected chicken can result in bird-flu transmission.

The survey sampled 1,007 Americans and was commissioned by the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

The Chinese government is implementing new Internet rules that directly challenge freedom of speech by imposing regulations on the content of news Web sites.

According to the new rules, news Web sites may only post "healthy and civilized" news.